Key Frame Commentary

Frame 1

Frame 1

This initial frame changes from how I originally wanted to take it. I originally described the effect I wanted to create as:

"Jake waking up from his sleep in a blank, minimalist room, with a monotone colour scheme. This would be an aerial close-up shot, placed above the character, to show his eyes opening suddenly and the order of the room."

Upon viewing the above keyframe, we can see that this is not the created effect as I realised that with financial and time limitations (due to being a student and other deadlines), finding and/or creating a minimalist room was harder than initially thought. Instead, I used the natural look and feel of my actor; Shivam's room. His room showed a lot of traits that I found to be commonplace around the age group of the character of Jake. I left the room as is; except a few changes such as darkening out windows with sheets, to give it the natural feel of a used room, that was still clean and orderly. I also placed a light out of frame to the right to remove any harsh shadows and remove the negative, giving a softer image.

Frame 2

Frame 2

For frame 2, I decided to go for a more isolated feel, putting Jake alone in a long shot. This, rather than the inclusion of moving vehicles within the frame makes the scene feel very slow and lifeless, potentially alluding toward the lack of exuberance in Jake's life.

Frame 3

Frame 3

Jake sitting alone, looking out to the window. This suggests his loneliness and isolation from the rest of the passengers on the bus. His looking out to the window, which is much brighter than where he currently is, could suggest that he's  not content with his current life, or that he's pondering a thought.The amount of blue tones in the scene suggest that; either way, it's sad.

Frame 4

Frame 4

A speeding car (imposed in photoshop) speeds toward Jake as he crosses the road, unbeknownst to him. The headphone shown in his ear closest to the camera shows that he did not hear the oncoming car due to him listening to music. The blurring in the distance was added in post to create suspense as the car looks as if it's out of Jake's field of view.

Frame 5

Frame 5

The reflection of the car in Jake's eye was also added in post, to create reason for the shocked expression that is apparent to the audience. This was also colour-corrected in post, to create realism, despite the eye photo being taken indoors.

Frame 6

Frame 6

This frame was manipulated to alter the colours, making them a colder, more mysterious tone as well as the shallow focus being added in. Due to my camera dying before shooting a few of my keyframe images, I had to adapt and use my smart phone, meaning I couldn't create a lot of the effects I wanted without the aid of image manipulation software. I feel this shot really captures the depth of the scene and creates mystery and suspense for the viewer.

Frame 7

Frame 7

Frame 7 alters from the original image that I wanted to create. In the final frame,  we can see that Ezraeil's hand is glowing upon contact with Jake's face. I felt this left more questions in the mind of the audience and disorientated their experience of the keyframes, questioning as to why Ezraeil's hand glows like it does. The shot is cold and the flesh tones are pale, alluding to spirits or the paranormal.

Frame 8

Frame 8

In this frame, we can see Jake in bed again. This time, the colours are much colder due to the use of a blue colour filter on my light, than a yellow/orange one. This is enhanced by the fact that this is the only strong light source in this shot, casting deep shadows and creating the image of a night time scene. The mise en scene suggests a more disorderly state of mind, with the sheets scrunched underneath Jake.

Frame 9

Frame 9

This image went exactly as planned, with the recurring blue colour scheme setting a darker, colder feel - contrasting heavily from the bright pale light that spill from the lamp just out of frame. The numbers on the bottom, glow eerily projecting the time onto the frame. This was all achieved using physical lights on set, combined with post production to add things such as the lit joint, timestamp and colour correction.

Frame 10

Frame 10

Key frame 10 also followed the plan for the shot. The dim blue light in the room illuminates only one half of the frame. The dutch angle in which the photo was captured makes the viewer feel uneasy, as well as depicting the struggle that Jake has with his state of mind. The hue shift in the back wall(s) of the room create the same effect, making this entire shot feel disorienting.

Frame 11

Frame 12

Frame 12

Frame 12 is, in my opinion, the frame most effective at capturing emotion. The high contrast between light and dark colours represent Jake battling conciousness (light) and fainting (dark). The blue in this scene also suggests sadness, which bodes well with the events depicted. A dark vignette encompasses the frame, settling on Jake. This makes the frame feel very claustrophobic and creates the idea of his eyes closing as he faints. Behind him is a very ordinary household, showing that even in his own home, he can't escape his demons. This frame suits the series of keyframes very well in my opinion.

Frame 15

Frame 15

In this frame, I diverted away from what I had originally planned. At first, I had thought that having my two characters standing still amonst a crowd of people rushing would be most effective. However, I found this hard to replicate, and; due to time constraints, altered my scene so that the two main characters would be standing alone against a background that was empty and blurred, making them appear 'far away from reality' and isolated within the scene.

Frame 19

Frame 19

Frame 19 was one of the trickier shots to pull off. This involved taking two pictures from the same angle and piecing them together in post production. One shot shows the body of Jake lying on the bed, whilst the other shows Ezraeil and Jake, side by side standing over the body. I applied a colder colour to this to really capture the sadness of the scene and make us feel for Jake. The over-the-shoulder shot, showing that he had to lay eyes upon his own body in a hospital bed.

Frame 20

Frame 20

For the final scene, each side of the frame is filled by Jake and Ezraeil. Jake towers over her and fills the majority of the shot, suggesting that he has 'grown' from his experiences with dealing with his imminent death. Dark shadows contrasting from the lights was achieved through post production and really highlight the emotions that Jake is dealing with, complimented by his expression. Despite this, Ezraeil is warmly smiling, knowing that he's ready and accepting. The light bouncing off of the light wall illuminates her facial expression, suggesting that she has a glowing presence.